National Hockey League and Stanley Cup
Each NHL team plays 82 regular season games, 41 home games and 41 away games. Teams used to play every other team in the league at least once, but this will no longer be the case after the implementation of the post-lockout changes. Teams will now play 10 games between conferences (that is, not in their own conference) throughout the season, 1 game against each team in two of the three divisions in the opposing conference. Teams will also play 40 games against non-divisional conference opponents (4 games against each) and 32 games within their division (8 games against each). Two points are awarded for wins, one point for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points in each division is crowned division champion. Each conference consists of three divisions, so these three division champions and five more teams complete each conference’s playoff field. In total, 16 teams (3 division champions and 5 additional teams, for a total of 8 from each Conference) qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are an elimination tournament, where two teams battle to win a best-of-seven series to advance to the next round. If the score is tied at the end of the third period, an overtime period is played. If the score is tied at the end of an overtime period, additional overtime periods will be played until a winner is determined. Overtime is also full twenty-minute periods (five-on-five hockey), instead of the five minutes (four-on-four hockey, followed by a shootout) in the regular season. Overtime is played with the golden goal (sudden death) rule, whereby the game ends as soon as either team scores a goal. It is said that the highest ranked team is the one with the advantage of playing at home. Four of the seven games are played at the headquarters of this team: the first and second and, when necessary, the fifth and seventh, and the other games are played at the headquarters of the lowest ranked team.
A playoff played in the NHL used the following format: Division winners were seeded from one to three, and then the next five teams with the best records in the conference were seeded from four to eight. However, the league has yet to announce the playoff format for the 2005-06 seasons, and with the new programming format emphasizing divisional play, the league is reportedly exploring placing greater emphasis on divisional ranking by taking the top 2 teams in each division. along with the teams with the next two best records for the playoff field of each Conference. In case of a tie in points in the ranking, ties are broken first by the number of wins and then by the record against the team that is tied (not taking into account the first game played in the arena of the team that organized more games than the other). during the season series, if applicable). Preference is then given to the tied team with the best positive differential between goals scored for and against, and in the rare circumstance that these tie-breaks are insufficient, the Commissioner has the authority to apply other means to break the tie. The first round of the playoffs, or conference quarterfinals, consists of the first seed facing the eighth, the second the seventh, the third the sixth, and the fourth the fifth. In the Conference Semifinals, the first remaining seed in the conference plays the fourth remaining seed, and the second remaining seed plays the third remaining seed. In the next round, the Conference Finals, the remaining two teams in each conference face each other, and the conference champions advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
